New Jersey can’t afford to wait while self-serving politicians in Washington, D.C., continue to play politics over comprehensive immigration reform. There are an estimated 60,000 undocumented young people in New Jersey today, and we must work to ensure that all of them can become productive, self-reliant members of our communities. Failing to provide them with the opportunities to do so would not only be harmful to these innocent young people, it would also needlessly undermine our economic future.

Ours is the only state in the top five for both its number of unauthorized immigrants and the cost of its public four-year colleges. Undocumented students in New Jersey who want to pursue higher education are doubly disadvantaged in that they are ineligible for in-state tuition and cannot receive state financial aid. Should N.J. allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition?As a result, much of the taxpayers’ $200,000-per-pupil investment in a K-12 education is wasted when these students become stuck in low-end jobs because college is out of reach.

It is critical, therefore, that we take proactive steps to help these students — the so-called DREAMers — achieve post-secondary education, so they can contribute to our economy as part of the next generation of highly skilled workers and entrepreneurs.

The Legislature is close to passing an historic bill (S2479) that would allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. To be eligible, a student must have attended high school in New Jersey for at least three years and obtained a high school diploma or equivalent. The legislation also would permit them to apply for state financial aid.

This second part — allowing undocumented students to participate in state financial aid programs — is at risk of being stripped out in order to appease Gov. Chris Christie and avoid a veto. This would be a significant setback to the objective of ensuring that all young people in New Jersey have an equal opportunity to pursue their educational goals.

The logic of Christie’s argument — that public tax dollars shouldn’t be used to subsidize the education of undocumented student — is seriously undercut by the fact that we are already spending millions for their primary and secondary schooling.

Even with in-state tuition, college will continue to remain unaffordable for many students if they are still denied access to state-based financial aid that low-income families depend upon.

One-third of full-time college students in New Jersey, for example, receive need-based Tuition Aid Grants. As Christie recently acknowledged, “TAG awards are instrumental in making higher education possible for thousands of students who qualify for these grants each year.”

How can we preach tuition equity while denying undocumented students the aid that is admittedly essential for those of low income?

Tuition equity is not just about compassion and leveling the playing field for students who have been put at a disadvantage through no fault of their own. It is also about making sure the resources New Jersey spends each year educating the children of immigrants aren’t wasted by putting up arbitrary roadblocks to their higher education.

With such a significant investment, we should be doing everything in our power to encourage the pursuit of higher learning, which brings better jobs and economic growth. This is especially true considering that each year, nearly eight times more high school graduates leave New Jersey to attend college than come to college in New Jersey from out of state. This has left New Jersey with the largest “brain drain” gap in the nation, a loss we cannot afford.

Let’s help all our students do as well for themselves — and for our state — as they can. Passing S2479 in its entirety and helping immigrant students who live in New Jersey is an important step in that direction.

Milly Silva, the former Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, is an executive vice president of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, representing more than 400,000 health care workers in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida and Washington, D.C.